Moonrise ✔ [Complete]

41 Wish (Part 2)

There was still that strange, green glow around the image of her mother, sticking to her body like smoke. But now, the Suolani woman's eyes were shimmering that same green.

"You must leave," said the woman in the mirror. She spoke with a gentle voice and gave a smile that sent a wave of serenity into Maeyune's body. "You do not belong here."

"Maeyune?"

Deiyu approached her again and moved his hand to touch her, but she shifted away, her eyes growing cold and hard. He made no indication if he saw her mother in the mirror.

"You are not my husband, and I am no princess," Maeyune affirmed. She turned the words into a sword, slicing at the dream that she had once had of them together.

Deiyu made no reaction to the bitterness in her tone, but maintained his polite smile.

"This is not real," she said.

"Come, beloved," Deiyu cooed. "We must celebrate our wedding night."

"This is not real," she repeated, her voice gaining strength.

The faint sound of shouting drew her attention to one of the mirrors farther down the hall. When she looked, she saw that the glass had disappeared entirely and was now a gaping hole--a window. No, a door.

She could see sand on the other side of the doorway, and sunlight streamed into the hall in golden beams.

Sunlight, at night? she pondered.

Her mother appeared inside the mirror that was adjacent to the opened doorway. "Here," was all she said before vanishing into green mist.

Maeyune did not hesitate. She gathered the layers of her skirt in fists and rushed forward, her ankles wobbly in her heeled shoes. Deiyu called after her, then ran to her side.

"Beloved, where are you going?"

"I am not your beloved," Maeyune said. She was surprised to find herself calm, rather than confused and angry like she had been before. She stopped a foot in front the mirrorless opening and felt a hot breeze whip sand against her face. Leaning over, she reached underneath her voluminous gown and tore off her shoes.

"Wretched dress," she muttered. "How can a woman fight in these things?"

She almost laughed aloud. Wait...her, fight?

Straightening, she shoved her heels into Deiyu's hands, and without a word, stepped through the doorway and into blinding light.

The white light carried on for miles. She could see nothing, not even the ground on which she tread.

Despite her lack of sight, she felt coarse sand underneath her feet as she walked. Then, a moment later, she stepped onto something smooth, padded, maybe even wet.

Soon, a multitude of smells assailed her nose. Through a thick layer of pungent spices, she recognized the odor of trash, sweat and blood. She almost wretched from the impact of the stench and slapped a palm over her nose and mouth.

Like earlier that night, she could only feel and smell. When she blinked, her vision cleared. But instead of emerging from darkness, she was thrust out from the realm of light. The world filled her vision in reds, beiges, and blacks, and she had to squint against the environment to ease the pain in the back of her eyes.

The setting came excruciatingly slow, but the first thing she could see were two men engaged in a violent brawl on the ground. They were only feet from her, and she watched as one man rose over the other, straddling his chest to deliver blow after blow to the fallen man's face.